1.  The first Christmas tree in the White House was placed in the second floor Yellow Oval Room (then used as a family parlor and library) in 1889 (Benjamin Harrison administration). It was decorated with candles, toys, etc. for the Harrison grandchildren  (courtesy While House Historical Assn).

2.  Names for Santa Claus around the world:

• Brazil  Papai Noel
• Chile  Viejo Pascuero (“Old Man Christmas”)
• China  Dun Che Lao Ren (“Christmas Old Man”)
• Finland  Joulupukki
• Hawaii  Kanakaloka
• Hungary  Mikulas (St. Nicholas)
• NorwayJulenissen (“Christmas gnome”)
• RussiaDed Moroz (“Grandfather Frost”)
• United Kingdom  Father Christmas

3.  I can't wait for the "A Christmas Story" movie marathon to begin on TBS this Christmas day.  One of my favorite lines from the movie is "Randy lay their like a slug.  It was his only defense."

4.  The first White House Christmas party was held in December 1800. President and Mrs. Adams gave it for their four-year-old granddaughter Suzannah, who was living with them. The Adams' invited the children of "official" Washingtonions to the party (courtesy While House Historical Assn).

5.   From the Pew Research Center:

• 81% of Americans believe Jesus was born in a manger.
• 75% of Americans believe that the three wise men were guided by a star to see Jesus
• 74% believe that Angels proclaimed Jesus' birth to Shepherds 
• 73% believe that Mary was a virgin at the time of Jesus' birth
• 64% of Americans believe all 4 of the above happened

6.  President Calvin Coolidge was the first chief executive to preside over the National Christmas tree lighting ceremony on the Ellipse in 1923. First Lady Lou Henry Hoover established the custom of decorating an official tree in the White House in 1929 (courtesy While House Historical Assn).

7.  Wrapping paper as we know it today was introduced in 1917 by two brothers in Kansas City.  Tissue paper was the wrapping of choice for presents and after their store ran out of tissue paper, they started selling fancy French envelope lining paper.  This decorative paper has been used ever since to wrap millions of presents.  By the way, the Hall Brothers' later formed a company - they called it Hallmark.

8.  Nearly 71% of adults believe that women are better gift wrappers than men.  And, 74% of adults say that the female head of household is most likely to wrap the majority of the gifts.

9.  How people around the world say Merry Christmas

• Joyeux Noel! - France
• Zalig Kerstfeest! - Belgium
• Frohliche Weihnachten! - Germany
• Buon Natale! - Italy
• Merii Kurisumasu! - Japan
• Milad Mubarak! - Morocco
• Eftihismena Christougenna! - Greece

​10.  From my family (Tina, Hannah, Andrew, Grace, Gabrielle) to yours, I wish you a very Merry Christmas. 

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1.  This recent quote from Rick Santorum describes my campaign perfectly: “You go out and fight and deliver the message and make sure you're doing your best to represent those people by getting your ideas across and standing up to the powers that be."

2.  I read a blog recently where the author said that around this time of year, he picks one word as his word for the year.  As I approach 2016, I have chosen the word PERSEVERE as my word of the year.

3.  Four minutes after arriving at the parked Toyota Camry alongside the Garden State Parkway, NJ State Police Sergeant, Sean Boag helped deliver a baby girl.  Boag said: 'I told her to push. 'A couple more pushes, we were able to pull the baby all the way out…”  No word if the baby’s middle name will be named Sean or Boag by the happy and grateful parents.

4.  While I saw the first Star wars movie in 1977 and the subsequent two sequels, I never watched episodes 1, 2 or 3.  And as such, I just don’t get the hype for the latest in this series being released on Friday – The Force Awakens.  Who waits outside of a theater for weeks in order to see a movie on the first day?

5.  According to Harvard's Institute of Politics, 48% of 18- to 29-year-olds surveyed said that they considered the American dream dead.  This poll alarms me and it should you.   Among other reasons, I am running for the PA House in hopes of convincing this age group that their dreams are not dead and that the future of PA –good or bad - is dependent on them.

6.  For the first time in the Kingdom’s history, four women in Saudi Arabia were elected to municipal councils in Mecca, Jawf and Tabuk after a ban on women taking part in the elections was lifted.   While women in Saudi Arabia face many curbs in public life, including driving, I remain hopeful that more rights will be afforded to them.  This election was a step in the right direction. 

7.  In a bid to show his constituents how determined he is, Chen Mao-chi who is running for a seat in Taiwan’s Parliament, jumped through a ring of fire.  He completed this stunt three times with the audience clapping each time he successfully made it through without getting burned.  Personal note to my campaign manager – “Don’t even think about asking me to do this.”

8.  In a recent meeting with the Commissioner of Baseball, where Pete Rose asked to be reinstated into baseball, he admitted that he still bets on professional sports.  During the interview, he initially denied that he bets on baseball only to clarify his response later in the same interview admitting that he still in fact bets on baseball.  So, he lied. Again.

9.  A former Apple employee who worked with Steve Jobs for 13 years had this to say about him: “Steve believed everyone has the potential for greatness.  He expected greatness no matter what your role at Apple.  He was frustrated with people he felt were underachievers of their own greatness that got him riled.  He was a genius who had the humility to ask for clarity if he didn’t get it.”  

10.  Someone once told me that compromise should be prevalent in a marriage, in a business dispute or in other situations where an agreement must be reached.  However, in Pennsylvania, the word compromise – at least as it pertains to the budget – is an ugly word.

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Have a great week everyone

1. I saw someone in Lititz this past Saturday who said this to me: "I'm so glad you are running for the PA House, but I have to ask you 'are you crazy?'" My response? "Not crazy. Just committed to changing Pennsylvania for the better."

2. LeBron James signed a lifetime relationship with Nike. Said James about this new agreement, "I'm very humble. It's been an unbelievable time for myself and my family, and I'm just grateful that Nike just believed in a skinny 18-year old kid from Akron, Ohio and I'm happy to be a part of such a great company." In a time when high paid athletes make self-serving comments, its refreshing to read that despite his fame and fortune, LeBron James is basked in humility.

​3. If con is the opposite of pro, then is Congress the opposite of progress?

4. From a recent LNP article: "Former chairwoman of the Republican Committee of Lancaster County Ann Womble is asking Republicans in the state to boycott the real estate mogul’s upcoming appearance at a popular annual fundraiser (Dec 11 Commonwealth Club) in New York City...He stands for suspicion, hatred, antipathy, division, and demonization. He stands against the promises of Lincoln and Reagan. He promotes anti-intellectualism and ignorance. He hopes people will like him for his money, his bombast, and maybe for his very questionable hair-do.” I am also a member of the same local Republican party as Ms. Womble, but I believe that we should listen to all candidates and then come to our own decisions. Her comments are typical of the committee members I've talked to over the past two years who believe that they are the ones to chose the candidates for us.

5. If you want to boycott anything Ms. Womble, why not start by not attending the Commonwealth Club altogether, which is an exclusive club for big money and even bigger political egos. To me, not attending this annual fundraiser because of the influence of big money makes a much bolder statement that complaining about a candidate's hair-do.

6. Today (Dec 08) is national brownie day. Brownies were created in the United States at the end of the 19th century to be a cross between a cookie and a cake. Below is a recipe for Cherry Swirled Brownies:

• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped well-drained maraschino cherries
• 1 teaspoon maraschino cherry juice
• 1 egg
• 1 box (1 lb 2 oz) Betty Crocker™ ultimate fudge Premium brownie mix
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 egg

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom of 9-inch square pan with cooking spray or shortening. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, cherries, cherry juice and 1 egg with spoon; set aside. In another medium bowl, combine brownie mix, pouch of chocolate fudge, oil, water and 1 egg until well blended. Spread half of the batter in pan. Spread cream cheese mixture over batter. Carefully spoon remaining batter on top; spread gently to cover. Bake 43 to 47 minutes (51 to 55 minutes for dark pan) or until toothpick inserted 1 inch from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours, before cutting. Store covered in refrigerator.
  
  

7. This is hard to fathom, but my beloved Dallas Cowboys are only one game out of first place with a 4-8 record. if they can go 3-1 the rest of the way and finish up at 7-9, they just might win the division. #americasteam

8. In a recent poll, 69% of Finns support a soon-to-be introduced plan that will give each adult citizen of Finland - regardless of income, wealth or employment status - $865.00 per month. While this plan will cost $54 billion per year, the proponents of this plan believe that it will encourage people to look for work as well as completely reforming the bloated and expensive welfare system. While I don't know too much about this proposal, I applaud those who came up with the plan as they took an issue of bloated government and came up with new solutions and ideas in order to solve it.

​9. From The book Jesus Calliing "Be willing to go out in a limb with Me. If that is where I am leading you, it is the safest place to be. Your desire to live a risk free life is a form of unbelief. In order to follow Me wholeheartedly, you must relinquish your tendency to play it safe."

10. Internet users spent a lot of time in 2015 searching about gay marriage, self expression and Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner. The end result was the word of the year by dictionary.com: identity


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1.  I want to give a huge shout out to my 12 year old nephew Nick for bagging his first deer.  With his dad and grandfather along his side, Nick shot a 7-point buck in the Altoona area. 

2.  Ever since announcing that I am running in the Republican primary for the PA House – District 37, I have been overwhelmed by the positive support that I have received from people that I do not even know.  Often, people will come up to me in restaurants, stores or on the street and tell me that they want me in Harrisburg to help end the infighting, which I believe is accomplished by having both sides of the aisle solve those issues first that common ground is found.
3.  Basketball superstar Kobe Bryant announced that the 2015-2016 NBA season will be his final one after playing his entire storied career for the Lakers.  I marvel at athletes like him who, despite their natural abilities, still maintained a strict training regimen in order to sustain those skills.  Above all else though, he was an athlete who entertained his fans night in and night and parlayed that into earning $680 million.  Unfortunately, no one will complain about how much money he made, but people often complain about how much CEOs and other business leaders earn.  Sadly, this is the country we live in – entertainers seem to be more valued.

4.  Through the first five months of this year, the readers of the Lancaster Newspapers graded the PA Legislature.  The results of that grade are below.  Keep in mind that this was before the budget impasse started, which is now in day #153:

• Transparency: C
• Education: C
• Spending: C
• Taxes: D
• Pension Reform: C
• Overall Grade: C-

4.  Speaking of the budget impasse, wouldn’t it make sense to create a budget that lasts two years instead of one?  After the first six months to a year of the two year budget, the legislature could begin evaluating the budget from everywhere from agency spending habits to waste to department inefficiencies.  By identifying the shortcomings, the General Assembly and the Governor will be in a much better position to plan for the next two year budget.  Most importantly, a two year budget also holds the line on spending for two years instead of one.  Holding the line on spending assists local school boards and social service centers by letting them know exactly how much state money they will receive over a two year period.  This two year budget’s net result would force agency officials to become smarter and more efficient when spending your money.    

5.  The latest Rocky movie “Creed” is now theaters where Rocky Balboa trains his former nemesis’ son.  Rocky 1 began in 1976 and “Creed” is the 7th installment of this franchise.  Is there anything better than seeing Rocky running through the streets of Philadelphia while the song “Gonna Fly Now” plays?

6.  With all of the talk about education funding in PA, I thought I would cite the language in the PA Constitution that requires this funding:  Article III (Legislation), A. Procedure, Public School System, Section 14: “The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth.”
 
7.  I’ve been reading a lot recently about the war on Christmas in today’s society. Yes, commercialism has watered down and probably has supplanted the true meaning of Christmas – celebrating the birth of Jesus – with the quest for presents.  For those Christians who get angry at this notion, please stop complaining and start showing Christ’s love for others. 

8.  A familiar Gospel song says, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going”.  You can be that spark to returning the true meaning of Christmas to society and here’s how.  The next time someone says to you “Happy Holidays” respond by smiling and saying “Merry Christmas” back to them.  Let God do the rest.  Bottom line is this: change your attitude before trying to force others to change theirs.

9.  Continuing with the Christmas theme, my wife Tina started decorating the house for Christmas this past weekend.  As she says, “I love Christmas and I love decorating.”  She is about half done but already I can say that she has truly outdone herself this year.  Nice job honey!

10. “Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth.”  Edmund Burke.  When I begin campaigning in earnest in January, no one will ever accuse me of not being passionate about my ideals, principles and solutions.  #lookoutGOP
Have a great week everyone.

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